Parental bereavement leave

The Employment Rights Act 1996 gives employees the legal right to take ‘reasonable’ time off to deal with an emergency – such as the death of a child. However this leave was unpaid, and did not necessarily allow parents the time they needed to grieve.

This will change on 6 April 2020, when the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay Act) 2018 comes into force. The new regulations, which are informally known as Jack’s Law, will mark a significant change in how employers manage parental bereavement.To read more, please log in.